Chapter 1. MILITARY OFFENCES
Section I. Breaches of Liability to Serve
Art. 296. Refusal to Perform Military Service.
(1) Whosoever, with intent to evade recruitment or military service which he is legally bound to perform, fails to obey an enlistment or mobilization order duly served by personal summons, by placard or by public announcement, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment, not exceeding ten years.
Art. 297. Failure to Enlist or to Rejoin the Colours.
(1) Whosoever, without seeking to evade recruitment or liability to military service, fails to obey a calling-up notice, in particular for an examination for recruitment, for an inspection, for training, or in respect of any other military obligation, is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding six months.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of war, the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Art. 298. Intentional Provocation of Unfitness.
(1) Whosoever, by maiming or other voluntary process injurious to his bodily integrity, renders himself, by his own action that of another, totally or partly unfit for service, be it permanently or temporarily, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Whosoever, for the purpose described above and with the consent of the interested party, renders the latter by any such act totally or partly unfit for service, is punishable, with simple imprisonment not exceeding five years.
(3) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years.
Art. 299. Fraudulent Evasion of Service.
(1) Whosoever, with intent to evade military service, be it permanently or temporarily, employs means to deceive the competent civil or military authority, in particular by making a false declaration or using a false document, or by feigning illness or infirmity, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.
Art. 300. Desertion.
(1) Whosoever, with intent to, evade military service, quits his unit, post or military duties without proper authority, or fails to return to them after being absent with leave, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the offender is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to life, or, in the gravest cases, with death.
Art. 301. Absence without Leave.
(1) Whosoever, without intent to evade service:
(a) leaves his regiment, or quits his unit, depot, organization or military duties, without proper authority, except in case of force majeure; or
(b) overstays, except in case of force majeure, a period of leave granted to him,
is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding six months.
(2) In time of war, simple imprisonment shall not exceed two years.
Art. 302. Voluntary Failure to Rejoin the Forces.
Whosoever, in time of war;
(a) having been separated from his unit, fails to rejoin it, or to join the nearest body of troops; or
(b) having been taken prisoner, fails upon regaining his freedom to report to a depot or to a military authority or to return to the ranks, is punishable with simple imprisonment, or, where his failure is intentional and permanent, with rigorous imprisonment from three to ten years.
Section II. Abuse of Military Authority
Art. 303. Unlawful Exemption From Service.
(1) Whosoever, in abuse of his commission or of the military authority conferred upon him, exempts from service a person who is legally under a liability to perform it, is punishable with simple imprisonment for at least six months.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Art. 304. Abuse of Authority.
A superior officer who exceeds the authority he exercises by virtue of his commission, abuses such authority or improperly assumes authority no conferred by such commission, is punishable, where his act does not constitute an offence under this Code, in accordance with the provisions of military regulations.
Art. 305. Threats or Violence against an Inferior.
(1) Whosoever threatens a person subject to his orders or of lower rank, strikes him, uses cruelty or violence towards him, or treats him in a degrading manner, is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding six months.
(2) Where the offender has made use of a weapon or other dangerous instrument, he, is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Section III. Breaches of Military Duty
Paragraph 1. Offences endangering Good Order and Discipline
Art. 306. Infringement ofGeneral Service Regulations.
(1) Whosoever intentionally fails to comply with general service orders or regulations other than disciplinary cases (Art. 747), is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding six months.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the offender is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three years.
(3) Where the offence is due to negligence, the offender shall be subject to disciplinary punishment in time of peace; in time of war or emergency lie is punishable simple imprisonment not exceeding one year.
Art. 307. Incomplete or Inaccurate Official Statements.
(1) Whosoever, being required by his commission or military duties to draw up an official return or declaration, or to fill up a service document.
(a) knowingly alters or conceals the facts or the truth, or intentionally leaves blank any detail or figure which. his signature is intended to certify; or
(b) refuses, or fails through culpable negligence, to draw up or to submit a minute, report or declaration he is required to render,
is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Any member of the armed forces who makes a false statement or withholds the truth from the competent authority, with the object of obtaining or prolonging leave, is liable to tile same punishment.
(3) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war or is likely to have serious consequences, the offence is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Art. 308. Drunkenness on Active Duty.
(1) Whosoever:
(a) repeatedly gets drunk while under arms; or
(b) being drunk, disturbs discipline or causes a public scandal,
is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three months.
(2) Where the drunken person threatens another with his weapon, or otherwise behaves in a dangerous manner, lie is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year. Where, in a state of culpable irresponsibility, lie wounds or kills another person, the general provision applies (Art. 50).
Art. 309. Want of Discipline.
Whosoever:
(a) absents himself without proper authority from barracks, camps or military quarters, or is found without proper order or authority in a place forbidden to him, or outside the bounds laid down for him; or
(b) takes part in a quarrel or brawl, or in disturbances, or refuses to obey an order to desist issued to Min by a superior officer; or
(c) misbehaves or disobeys orders in a hospital, in sick quarters or else where at the risk of complicating or aggravating his condition or of causing his treatment to bc prolonged; or
(d) in any oilier way, by word of mouth, gesture or deed, disturbs good order and military discipline,
is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year.
Art. 310. Insults or Threats to, or Assaults upon, a Superior Officer.
(1) Whosoever insults, threatens or molests a superior officer, or uses violence against him, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Where the threat or assault is accompanied by violence or done by the use of a weapon, an instrument or a dangerous object, tile offender is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
(3) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment not exceeding five years in respect of ail offence under clause 1, or rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years in respect of an offence under clause 2.
Art. 311. Insubordination.
(1) Whosoever intentionally fails to carry out, or refuses to obey, order relating to his duties issued by his commanding officer or the competent military authorities, either to him personally or to unit of which lie is a member, be it by word of mouth, in writing, by sign or in any oilier way, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Where the offence is committed in line of emergency, general mobilization or war, and where the refusal to obey is definite, the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.
(3) Where the offence is of exceptional gravity and is committed ill the face of the enemy, the offender is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for life or with death.
Art. 312. Mutiny.
(1) Whosoever, in concert with other members of the armed forces, in an unlawful assembly or by any other method, takes part in a seditious movement leading to insubordination or revolt, or to threats, violence or assault on or against a superior officer or a military authority, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.
(2) Where the mutiny is raised in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the offence is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from three years to life, or, in cases of exceptional gravity, with death.
(3) The ringleaders or organizers shall be sentenced to exemplary punishment (Art. 81(d)), within the limits of these punishments.
Art. 313. Concert or Conspiracy to raise a Mutiny.
Whosoever conspires or joins with others for the purpose of preparing a mutiny or seditious movement, is punishable with simple imprisonment, and, in time of war, with rigorous imprisonment from three to ten years.
Art. 314. Attempted Participation.
In cases of mutiny in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, attempted instigation, attempted aiding and abetting, are punishable offences. (Art. 27(2)).
Art. 315. Offences against Guards, Sentries orPatrols.
Insults, threats, assaults, acts of violence, insubordination or mutiny against a military guard, sentry, or a patrol on duty are punishable is though committed against a superior officer.
Paragraph 2. Offences against Guard Duty or Instructions
Art. 316. Breaches of Guard Duty.
(1) Whosoever:
(a) intentionally or through criminal negligence or imprudence renders himself incapable of discharging his duties as a guard, be it by drunkenness or otherwise; or
(b) without proper authority, abandons his post, or quits it before being regularly relived, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Where the offence is committed intentionally in the face of the enemy, the offender is punishable with rigorous imprisonment with life or with death.
Art. 317. Infringement of Military Instructions.
(1) Whosoever acts contrary to the instructions issued to a guard, sentry, patrol, escort or to any person with similar duties, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) The punishment shall he simple imprisonment for three months at least where the offence is committed:
(a) when the guard is mounted over a power station supplying electric power or light, dams, weirs, sluices, dykes, jetties, port installations or major protective works, or bridges, viaducts or crossings of vital importance; or
(b) where it is mounted over an anchorage, a depot or a part containing equipment, locomotives or motorized vehicles, an arsenal, or a dump of weapons, ammunition, explosives, fuel or provisions of substantial value or importance; or
(c) in a dangerous zone or while the offender is on frontier guard duties.
(3) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the offender is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding three years and with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years in cases of gravest importance.
Art. 318. Disclosure or Alteration of Instructions.
(1) Whosoever, while on active service, but without committing treason:
(a) gives countersigns, passwords or instructions to any person not entitled to receive them; or
(b) knowingly gives to another entitled to receive them countersigns, passwords or instructions other than those which he has himself received, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Where the offender has acted through negligence he shall be liable to disciplinary punishment.
(3) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the offender is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding five years in the case of negligence, and with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding twenty years in the case of intentional infringement.
Paragraph 3. Offences against Honesty
Art. 319. Misuse or Waste of Material.
(1) Whosoever:
(a) improperly uses, lends, alienates or pawns; or
(b) makes away with, abandons, damages, loses or destroys arms, munitions, equipment, material or instruments, vehicles, animals, or any other objects entrusted, or handed over to him, or to which he has access by reason of or during his military service,
is punishable, where no other provision of this Code applies, with simple imprisonment, even where his military status or functions have ended.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of war, the Court may pass sentence of rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Art. 320. Malversation and Receipt of Ill-Gotten Gains.
(1) Whosoever, being entrusted with the supervision, procurement, handling or distribution of provisions, money, material or any other property:
(a) uses them unlawfully, or undervalues them in any manner whatsoever; or
(b) receives or solicits any benefit there from, or in any way has an improper interest in the purchase, sale or distribution of any provisions, supplies, equipment, goods or other objects delivered to a garrison, camp, canteen, barracks or other military establishment, is punishable, where the act does not come under another provision of this Code, such as breach of trust, fraudulent administration, corruption or peculation, with simple imprisonment, or, in more serious cases, with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of war, the Court may pass sentence of rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.
Section IV. Offences endangering the Safety, Morale or Power of the Armed Forces
Art. 321. Failure to Report Danger.
(1) Whosoever, in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, fails to inform his commanding officer or the military command of an eventor fact of which he is aware and which manifestly calls for immediate military measures, is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding six months.
(2) Failure to report a danger or projected treason, espionage, mutiny or desertion is punishable under Art. 344.
Art. 322. Failure to Take Essential Security Measures.
(1) A commanding officer or other person in the service of the armed forces who fails, he it during military operations or in any other service circumstances, to take on his own initiative the precautionary or security measures necessary to safeguard the lives and health of the persons and animals, or to maintain in good order or to ensure the safety of the depots, installations, works, resources or other objects, for which lie is responsible, thereby hazarding them, is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year.
(2) Where the offender has acted through negligence, carelessness or imprudence, and where the offence appears to justify more than a mere disciplinary penalty, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment not exceeding three months.
(3) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, the offender is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three years in the case of intentional failure, or with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year in the case of negligence.
Art. 323. False Alarm.
(1) Whosoever, on the march or in camp, in the field or in barracks, on a warship or on an aerodrome, or in any other place, intentionally raises a false alarm, especially by drawing or discharging his side or fire arm, by beating a drum or sounding a bugle, by cries, signals shouts or gestures, or in any other way, is punishable with simple imprisonment.
(2) Where the offence is committed in time of emergency, general mobilization or war, and where it is not punishable under another provision of this Code, the offender is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding five years.
(3) Where the alarm has been raised through criminal negligence or imprudence, the offender is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three months and, in time of emergency or war, with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year.
Art. 324. Demoralization of Troops.
(1) Any member of the armed forces or any military commander who during or immediately before battle, demoralizes or disheartens the troops or weakens their position by his behaviour, in particular by giving ground contrary to orders, by throwing away arms, equipment or munitions, by spreading fear or causing disorder or confusion, or by failing to take the steps required of him to prevent or remedy such developments, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding three years.
(2) Where the offence and its consequences are of particular gravity, the offender is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for life, or, in the gravest cases, with death.
Art. 325. Cowardice.
Whosoever, in face of the enemy and from cowardice:
(a) refuses to take up arms or to use them; or
(b) hides, rims away or abandons his post without orders to that effect; or
(c) incites his comrades or subordinates to similar behaviour, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from three years to or, in the gravest cases, with death.
Art. 326. Capitulation.
A commanding officer who:
(a) in battle or in the face of the enemy lays down his arms, despatch a bearer with a flag of truce, hauls down his flag, or surrenders with his men without having done everything that the exigencies of military duly require of him; or
(b) abandons, leaves, scuttles or surrenders his ship, his aircraft, his armoured fighting vehicle or any other instrument of war for which be is responsible without having done everything in his power to save it; or
(c) surrenders a fortress, a town, port or aerodrome, a garrison, a post or a fortified position without having exhausted all possible means of defence,
is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for life or with death.
Art. 327. Abandonment of Means of War Intact.
(1) Any member of the armed forces or any commanding officer who, in time of war, abandons to the enemy, without having done everything in his power to destroy them or put them out of commission, a depot, an establishment, a military camp or installation, munitions, arms, other means of war, bridges, viaducts, railways or any other object of importance to the national defence, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.
(2) Where the offence is due to negligence, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment from six months to five years.
Section V. Common Provisions
Art. 328. Offences committed by Prisoners of War or Military Internees.
(1) Irrespective of any offences against public international law for which they may have to answer under the provisions of the preceding title (Title II), prisoners of war or military internees who are on Ethiopian territory or are dependent upon the Ethiopian military or civilian authorities, are subject to the provisions of this title for any military offences they may commit. The ordinary punishment prescribed in this Code, with the exception of pecuniary penalties and ordinary disciplinary punishments are applicable to them.
(2) Prisoners of war or military internees are subject to the provisions of this Code concerning deprivation of liberty or life in cases of nonmilitary offences, particularly in the event of escape, or of any other offences of which they may be guilty.
Art. 329. Breaches of Military Duty committed by Officers or Commanding Officers.
In all cases of breach of liability to perform military service, of breach of military order or discipline, of service or of military obligations in general, officers and commanding officers, irrespective of rank, shall be subject to exemplary and drastic punishment, according to their degree of guilt, within the limits of the punishments provided under this Code.
Art. 330. Additional Penalties in Grave Cases.
In all cases punishable with rigorous imprisonment or death, the Court may order the payment of a fine not exceeding twenty thousand dollars in the cue of a commanding officer, or not exceeding five thousand dollars in other cases, where the offender has acted for gain.
The court may, in addition, order dismissal from the Armed Forces or reduction in rank, where the offender has shown himself unworthy to serve or unworthy of his rank.
Art. 331. Disciplinary Offences Excepted.
In the case of minor infringements of service orders or regulations, of occasional drunkenness, of disobedience, of indiscipline or of abuse, where the punishment prescribed in the Penal Code seems excessive (Art. 87), disciplinary punishments (Art. 748) may be imposed.
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